I bought my first washing machine in 1988. It was a Videocon fully automatic top loading. Way back in the 90s there was hardly any choice available for washing machines and the Videocon advertisement....it washes, it rinses it even dries the clothes..in just a few minutes, you are ready for the show! This really helped in the selection from a very meagre selection choice.
The capacity if I recollect correctly was less than 5 kgs. but who is complaining? It really did its job well. As claimed in the advertisement I just used to load the machine, add the detergent and after starting, forget all about it till the final beeps to alert me the job was done. And assure you it was a job well done. Actually there was not much choice by way of detergents either. There was good old surf and no confusion about Excelmatic or Excel or blue or whatever as seems to be the case nowadays. This Videocon machine gave me good service for the first three years without having to call anyone for servicing even once. Then the lid gave way and I had to get it replaced at nominal cost. According to the technician the lid had given way because
my maid used to balance her weight on the lid to take the clothes out of the machine and was also using it as a table top to place some light things like glasses on it. Thus the first ever problem it gave was more a fault in the way we used it rather than a technical hitch.
Subsequently we shifted house and my good ole Videocon was one of the first things to be installed in our new home. No problems and it kept doing its job well. Then we got transferred to Chiplun and I carted my Videocon there too and in the two years that I used it in my Chiplun house I was forced to call a technician only once as the drain cycle was not functioning. Again for a nominal amount it was righted by a technician who had to come all the way from Ratnagiri. I was by now a die hard fan of Videocon and kept recommending it to all and sundry. Thus when I returned back to Mumbai I once again carted my machine with me. By now it was year 2000 so you can imagine the ole faithful had really served me well. Upon my return to Mumbai It started giving me problems in the year 2002 and I had to twice call the technician for repair. To get a technician to come from the service centre was a task by itself. Two days of dialing would probably get me some rude guy on the line who anyway would never turn up at the given time. Besides by now the market was flooded with a wide range of front loading and top loading machines and I had reached the end of my tether with the rude service centre guys of Videocon. The machine which gave me impeccable service was now to be replaced due to disastrous handling by the service centre. Hence in the year 2003 once again when I shifted residence I finally bought a new 6kgs LG top loading.
The LG gave me problems right at the outset and I really regretted not going for another Videocon. Had it not been for the pathetic service centre of Videocon I probably would have opted for a Videocon. The LG technicians came after a week to install and that too at 10pm in the night! Subsequently I had problems with the spin cycle and twice the technician had to be called. Thankfully after it was set right I have not faced any further problems. Now having used a machine for 18years a few simple lessons I learnt were:
Always make sure the washing machine is placed on firm surface.
NO castors on a stand.
Once installed do not move the machine around.
Run the machine twice if needs be, but do not overload.
Use a good detergent for a good wash.
And now I always wonder how did I ever manage prior to buying my first machine.